Johor Road Trip
Quite a successful Johor Road Trip, I must say - courtesy of Gunung Raya Travel Agency, with one of my aunts who organized the trip for a group of my extended family and myself.
Although I can’t help but whine a little at the tour coaches that we were assigned to. The seats were those leathery kinds which was not the type you’d like to sit in especially if you are going to get hot and sweaty walking in the sunshine.
Your bottom is liable to get stuck on them seats, not to mention the annoying “pwoooooooot!” noises you’ll get if you try to shift your position.
And in addition to that, I wasn’t quite fond of getting up in the wee hours of the morning, especially when I feel that I’ve barely rested at all throughout the night.
Furthermore, the seats on the tour coach weren’t comfortable enough for sleeping in. They can’t even be reclined, so I was forced to sit upright for the several hours spent in the tour coach.
But on the whole, it was a pretty good trip…
… and so my cousin and I got high. (Okay, a not-so-funny pun there.)
And so I returned home with a bag full of Malaysia-produced titbits, a bag containing two very cheap t-shirts (The prices there are amazingly low!), and a digital camera containing almost two hundred photos.
Hong Kong was fantastic.
It was more spectacular than the last time I’ve been there. In fact, I’ve become so accustomed to the lifestyle there that I just didn’t want to return to Singapore. As soon as my feet stepped back on home ground upon getting off the aeroplane, I was already considering migrating there.
(The fact that there are so many national flags flying all over the streets of Singapore now in preparation for the upcoming National Day didn’t make things any better. They seemed to be screaming at me to ditch all thoughts of migrating and be damned loyal to my own country instead.)
Ah, whatever. I am missing Hong Kong already.
The cozy hotel room, the bustling streets, the shopping, the food, and especially the fact that their currency is five times lower than that of Singapore’s, making almost everything much cheaper than that back at home.
The only aspect I am not missing is the weather.
Scorching hot, I’d say. My friends and I were practically being roasted alive as we throgged the streets.
Our one night stay at Guangzhou, however, was a major bummer. There was barely anything to do there, apart from simply roaming the streets and be easy targets for mainland Chinese Conmen. We got majorly ripped off on the very first day we stepped foot in that god’damned city. Further elaboration would be included in the travelogue later in this entry.
Our seven-day itinery was as such:
Hong Kong - Hong Kong - Guangzhou - Hong Kong - Hong Kong - Hong Kong - Hong Kong
Needless to say, I was highly relieved when we returned to Hong Kong on the fourth day. Somehow, I felt much safer there. The sense of familiarity, I guess.
Without further ado, I’ll commence on the extended travelogue. It’s hard to summarize seven days in a single entry, but I’ll try.
Do not proceed if you are allergic to long Grandmothers’ stories.
It’s been yet another wonderfully memorable vacation in Genting Highlands.
Even though it is my third time there within the past two months, and my 254942th (Gosh, how I exaggerate. Actual count: 35) time in my entire lifetime, there is always something new about each trip, even though the actual environment is still the same.
Three visits in two months. The same place, but with totally different atmospheres.
I believe that it is the people that makes a vacation, not the place. The environment is secondary to the companions whom you would spend time with throughout the entire duration of the trip.
Nothing beats having my favourite cousins around. They’ve kept me laughing all the way throughout the past three days. What would I do without them?
The deafening moments spent in the karaoke booths, getting thrashed at pool, frolicking outdoors in the cool mountain air, plus the screaming (plus cursing and swearing) at the Outdoor Theme Park.
Priceless moments indeed.
And without further ado, I shall hereby launch into yet another travelogue - albeit a shorter one this time round.